Contact

Questionnaires

Basic Background Information

Family info (spouse, children):

I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Renee, for almost 20 years. We are blessed with two beautiful, bright, and talented children. Our son, Blaise (15) is a student at IRCHS and continues the family tradition of service to our community donating hundreds of hours last year to The Green Patrol which keeps our community "clean, green, and pristine" (without taxpayer funding). Our daughter, Haddie (13) is a member of National Junior Honor Society and a member of several clubs at school including yearbook. She's not just a straight A student who competes in Academic Games, she's also a creative dynamo who is involved in dance, community theater, and was one of only two students from Indian River County selected to attend the All-State Chorus.

Forgive my pride in them, I just want you to understand why a world-class education that develops the whole child is so personally important to me as a School Board Candidate. To use a business term, Blaise and Haddie are my "skin in the game". They, and the other 17,300+ students served by the School District of Indian River County deserve the best. Together, we can do better.

In what year did you move to your community?

Have you ever been convicted of a felony:

No. Not even a misdemeanor. I was entrusted with a Top Secret (SCI) clearance in the USMC and have done nothing since then to jeopardize such a validation of character.

CEO- Green Patroller Industries- "Making Green Work"
Developing and marketing products that help individuals and organizations reduce costs and have a positive impact on health of individuals and our planet- current product lines include: Electric Human Transporters (Comparable with Segway brand products) GPmini, GPbeast, GPurban; Landfill Dietitian™ -Waste Management Sorting Devices designed to divert 82-90% of waste away from landfills and back to farms and industry; and now WormBench™ which is an odorless way to convert the 17-24% of household and commercial food waste currently going to the landfill into amazing organic (and Lagoon friendly) fertilizer, literally while you just sit around.

CEO/ Founder- The Green Patrol.org (currently reforming under new leadership and expanding nationally) June 2012-present- A non-profit organization dedicated to motivating, connecting, and empowering our human family to have a BLAST keeping OUR community clean, green, and pristine.

Past Roles of importance:

High School Science Teacher- Sebastian River High School- teaching Chemistry, Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Physics within the Marketing and Communications and Medical Academies.

Senior Market Manager- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)- Managed the 40 acre agribusiness center in Ft. Pierce. Full P&L responsibility, leading a team of 5.

SBI distributing: Exclusive distributor for GreensFirst and NanoGreens10 nutraceuticals for the southeastern US. Built a network of 441 health care professionals through consultative selling while meeting the nutritional needs of a population that is over-fed but under-nourished. Positioned business for profitable sale, which allowed me the financial freedom to "give back" by becoming a teacher at SRHS.

Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?

Like Presidents Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, and Thomas Jefferson and entrepreneurs Henry Ford, Donald Trump and Walt Disney I was forced to file for protection under the law. My business partners fraudulently transferred assets into a new business, then perjured themselves under oath saying that the business was not profitable while sticking me with the bills. There was no way around it and my attorney suggested seeking legal protection to get back on my feet and provide for my family after being taken by these hucksters. When I started working in Venture Capital, I was surprised to learn that VC investors actually prefer entrepreneurs who have already been through bankruptcy early in their careers because they are cautious and hungry. They can spot the signs that things are getting out of control, especially in the spending department.
After I filed, we turned things around pretty quickly and I wanted to make things right so I paid back over $42,000 that I didn't even have to, just because it was the right thing to do. The experience was many, many years ago and I've since earned my MBA, bought several properties, completely rebuilt my life, and learned a great deal about business and partnerships. This experience is the main reason I am so fiscally conservative and always a little bit skeptical of something that seems too good to be true like the Race to the Top federal money that has come with a number of strings including Common Core and the loss of local control. I’m now trained to question the motives of a “gift horse” and look several steps ahead to the possible outcomes. I’m an example of just the situation for which the laws were written, and I feel blessed to have pulled through so well. It makes me a vigilant watchdog for taxpayer money.